Soybeans gain on speculation supplies may tighten

Soybeans advanced Thursday on speculation that U.S. supplies may tighten as Brazil struggles to ship its beans.

May soybeans rose 29.25 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $14.49 a bushel, gaining for the first day in eight.

The price of soybean contracts has been falling this month on expectations that Brazil will produce a strong crop this year. While the crop has met expectations, delays at ports in the South American country are leading buyers to look elsewhere.

"It looks like we've got some commercial buying in beans, that's helping to provide support," said Darin Newsom, a commodities analyst at DTN.

In other agriculture trading, May wheat fell 7.25 cents, or 1 percent, to $7.2875 a bushel. Corn for delivery in the same month edged higher, gaining 0.5 cent to $7.33 a bushel.

Trading in metals was mixed.

Gold for April delivery rose $6.30 to $1,613.80 an ounce.

Silver for May delivery rose 39.5 cents to $29.212 an ounce while copper for the same month declined 1.15 cents to $3.4350 a pound.

Platinum for April delivery fell $2.40 to $1,580.10 an ounce. Palladium for June delivery fell $1.35, or 0.2 percent, to $756.85 an ounce.

In energy trading benchmark oil for May delivery dropped $1.05 to finish at $92.45 a barrel, as the financial crisis in Cyprus overhung the market.